


Everything Under the Stars

by wailing_whale



Series: Something to Remember [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Secret Relationship, Stars, Swimming Pools, i might do that, ok, pool kisses, this is basically the exact same au as my other fic i should make them a series, this is just more fluff ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 03:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1101732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wailing_whale/pseuds/wailing_whale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is a sucker for the clear night sky, and Dave is a sucker for John's open fascination with it. Both of them suck at keeping their relationship secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything Under the Stars

It was just one of those nights.

One of those nights when the earth grew sluggish in its spin cycle and all the lights that hit the window broke the pane into tiny fragments, splinters of seconds and air that spiraled out to the velvet abyss of the open sky. His palm was pressed against the glass door, the warmth of his hand soaking in the cold, and he glanced back at John with an expectant look. John rolled his eyes and hefted the bundle of towels higher up under his arm.

“Hold on, Dave,” he was complaining, simultaneously  trying to juggle the hefty stack of towels he held and his increasingly troublesome swim trunk situation, in which his shorts, still not done up by their drawstring, threatened to fall off his hips at any moment. Dave looked away, his gaze returning to the shimmering expanse of water in John’s backyard, silent and reflective in the liberal supply of underwater pot lights.

“I wanted to take a dip in this sweet pool since I got here, John, let me have this already.”

“No one was keeping you from jumping in!” he protested, shuffling closer to the back door. Dave, feeling chivalrous, took half the towels from him. “You didn’t have to wait.”

“Right, and it’s not like you whisked me off to your room soon as I got here to show me all your new video games.”

“They’re not new, Dave, that’s the entire point! They are really old and that is half the fun in playing them. And you played them with me anyways, so I can’t be all to blame, right?”

At that Dave simply shrugged and pushed open the door. John was right, he had wanted to play the ridiculous games, if only to laugh at their sheer awfulness and sit next to John in a stuffy room for hours on end. Somewhere along the lines though, a visit to John’s house for a test of his brand new pool turned into an entire afternoon, and then evening, holed up in his room.

Not like Dave was complaining or anything. An entire evening with John was fine by him.

But he came to swim, and there was no way he could leave without at least getting his toes wet. John’s dad had already gone to bed and Dave’s ride would be here in less than an hour, so there really seemed like no other option left in his mind at this point.

The balmy heat of outside was a welcome change from the Egbert’s crisply air conditioned home, and Dave rolled his bare shoulders once, sizing up the pool. It was a gorgeous addition to the backyard, taking up most of the lawn space with its sprawling adjoined patio, and the entire thing looked pristine in the tiny lines of twinkling lights that lined the dark perimeter of the deck, separating the pool from the rest of the world. Defining the known, and through it, the unknown.

Already in his swim trunks, Dave wasted no further time gawking, instead diving into the deep end with a reckless splash. He knew that they should be quiet so as to not wake John’s dad, but there was a pool, and Dave was in a swimsuit, and there really was little other math to add to the equation before he reached a solid conclusion to jump head first in.

He thought he heard John yelping a reprimand from topside, but it may have been the foam of bubbles brushing past his ears. Pushing himself up through the surprisingly warm water, Dave resurfaced, shaking his waterlogged hair in a spray. Recovering his orientation, he turned around, treading water, and was immediately greeted by  John’s airy laughter and a rush of water in his face.

Sputtering, he recoiled from the attack and bucked his legs up, quickly back stroking away from John with zealous kicks, aiming water in his direction. The laughter from John didn’t seem to stop, even when Dave continued to send facefulls of pool water his way, which just made things all the more infuriating. He kept splashing till he made it to the shallow side of the pool, where he wiped the wet from his eyes as his feet touched the bottom.

His laughter now subsided, John glided smoothly towards him through the water, sending ripples out towards Dave, waves of a search beacon, radar. A smirk played on John’s lips, the light that bounced up from below them, in the corners of the pool, making his skin turn fluorescent and smooth. He kept creeping closer, easing towards Dave with a fake calmness, but Dave wasn’t going to fall for his tricks again. As soon as he was close enough to splash, the two of them an arm’s distance away, Dave sunk seamlessly down into the water, having to crouch and bend his knees in the shallow pool just for his head to be fully submerged.

He swam out from John’s reach, leisurely, finding himself in the deeper section where he could actually swim as he made his way further away. Sparing glances through the shimmering water, he caught sight of John’s legs, coming towards him, eager to continue their game. It was fascinating, really, to test just how much power he could hold against John, how long he would chase after him if he denied his presence. In a way, it was charming, reassuring even, to know that John would come after him. Dave kept up his uninterested pretense as he swam away under the surface, but he was starting to feel his lungs burn for air, and a look back alerted him that John had stopped pursuing. He came up for air and wiped the rogue strands of wet hair from his face.

John was still in the shallow end of the pool, the waves Dave was making lapped softly against his bare chest. His focus was held intensely skyward, not even sending Dave a look as he resurfaced. Making his way across the pool towards him again, Dave glanced up as well. The inky sky was pressing down on them, limitless and smooth, and tiny pinpoints of starlight pierced through the veil of black. They twinkled and shone in all their brilliance, but Dave found it was more rewarding to keep his eyes on John.

John though, was rapt with attention towards the stars, water dripping from his hair and skin, the glow of the pool making his eyes come alight in blue fire. By now, Dave was right in front of him, chest heaving softly still from holding his breath so long. John looked at him, finally and slowly, as if his eyes had to take a moment to refocus, and grinned.

“What are you so damn chipper about?” Dave asked, mindful of the need to stay quiet and keeping his voice hushed.

John shrugged, still smirking, and glanced up again quickly. “The sky is really pretty tonight. And you,” he looked back at Dave, “are smiling a lot. It’s nice.”

At this he tried to quell the grin that was indeed bloomed onto his face, but after a moment’s effort, he found it was easier to just give in to the expression. “Maybe we should go dry off.”

John nodded, but his eyes kept getting caught in the sky, and Dave liked the way his bare skin looked when it was wet.

There was no one around but them and the stars, the soft sounds of the water hitting the sides of the pool, and everyone with nothing better to do had already gone to bed, so when John at last returned his gaze back down, Dave kissed him.

It was slow and careful, though they had done this before and there was no reason to be afraid of each other. John’s arms found their way to Dave’s wet neck, wrapping and holding onto him tightly, and Dave threaded his fingers along the coarse dampness of his hair. Everything was easy and soft, the feeling of John’s skin against his and the way he had to catch his breath after they stopped, all of it was just right, and Dave didn’t try to halt him when John went back for seconds.

Maybe he should have stopped him though, or at least made him tone it down a few notches, since John pushed against him too forcefully, enough to send Dave’s feet off balance, and both of them fell back into the pool, teeth clacking together uncomfortably. They were gasping as they resurfaced, a tangle of limbs and swallowed water.

“You know I appreciate the enthusiasm,” Dave remarked, blinking out water from his eyes as John recovered from a coughing fit, “But maybe jumping me in the middle of a  pool wasn’t such a hot idea.”

Chuckling sheepishly, John nodded. “We don’t really get to do this much. I wanted to make it good.”

“Good, not so much. But I think it won top prize as most memorable kiss to date, so congrats, Egbert.”

This earned him another laugh, and John kissed his cheek, his messy aim landing it right on the bottom curve of his jaw. The water was warm where it touched along Dave’s lower body, but the air was starting to grow chilly in the night. He compensated by holding onto John, his arms pressing against his sides.

“When was your brother coming to get you?”

Dave shrugged lazily, not wanting to think about having to leave. John seemed ok with the decision, suddenly interested in the way Dave’s cheekbone felt under his fingertips. He had a loose, open mouthed smile on his lips, and for once, Dave trusted his innocence. There were no tricks here, no pranks waiting around the corner. Just… John. John and his starry eyes and his wet skin.

He pressed his forehead against Dave’s, and Dave didn’t quite feel so cool anymore.

“Have you told your dad yet?” he ventured carefully, his hand weaved into the shorter hairs along the nape of John’s neck as he closed his eyes. Dave would hardly admit it aloud, but he loved these moments, the quiet, rare times when he was allowed, and freely so, to touch John, to feel his pulse as it quickened when he kissed him, to see the way his pupils grew larger when he did the right thing with his hands, when they both teetered dangerously close to doing something more than just innocent kisses.

John was quiet, and Dave peeked an eye open. He was chewing on his lip in the nervous way he had, gaze averted. His guilt was transparent.

“You haven’t told him.”

A shake of his head. Dave sighed, turning his head to look at the dark house behind them.

“You’re gonna have to tell him sooner or later. We can’t just keep this under wraps for so long like this, John.”

“I know. I know,” John muttered. He turned Dave’s head back to look at him, his eyes pleading softly. “Just… I’ll tell him soon. In a few weeks maybe. I need to make sure he won’t ban me from the house and kick me out or something. I don’t want to disappoint him somehow.”

Waiting for another answer that he knew wouldn’t come, Dave nodded faintly. John seemed to have a relationship with his dad that he didn’t share with his bro, something different than it altogether. There were some things he knew about his dad well, and other topics there were completely veiled between them, taboo and secret, and he had to live by a certain equilibrium in order to reach a peace. Maintaining that meant a lot to John, he knew.

None of that meant that Dave was patient.

“Alright,” he said, not able to keep the monotone out of his voice. John’s shoulders sunk, and maybe Dave felt a little bad for it. He contemplated leaving, suddenly not feeling comfortable with how disappointed he made John.

“Don’t be mad,” John implored quietly, leaning closer to him to press their heads together again. Dave wasn’t mad, but he didn’t tell John this. “I’ll tell him by the end of the month, I promise.”

This looked like the best reassurance Dave was going to receive, and he kissed him again for it. He’d have to leave soon, his bro would be out in the driveway within minutes, car idling in wait. But for now, he wanted John close, and it seemed like John wanted him there too.

Both of them felt the urgency to it, the stolen touches and hasty breaths, and John bit at Dave’s lip, pulled him in closer, till they were flush, chest to chest. Their skin was mostly dry where they stood half out of the water, Dave’s thumbs brushing against his skin right under the waterline, kneading gently into his soft parts, below the ribs. John used his semi buoyancy as an excuse to wrap his legs around Dave's hips, who thankfully was steadier on his feet this time around, and held him up despite his surprise at the boldness. He held him tight against his own body, stealing the moment and locking it away in touch, in memory.

Pulling off of his lips, he utilized John's new position to suck at his neck, roughly grazing his teeth over his skin, tongue poking out, inexperienced, over the area afterwards, all of which make light work of producing a reaction. John seemed eager to break their shared silence, gasping sharply and letting out tiny sounds, whimpers and breathed moans. They had never gotten this far before, neck kissing and moans. Dave found his breath to be in short supply.

The tangy lines of fingernails drawn over his scalp sent a small shudder coursing past Dave's nerves, and he stopped with bothering John's neck; he didn't want to cause a bruise to form, regardless of how nice it would look on John's otherwise pristine skin.

John was looking down at him, panting softly, and Dave supposed he was as well. His heart thudded clear in his ears, egging him onwards with every beat and every breath. John tilted his head to reach the few inches between them again, their lips met, and in that second the light from the back porch flicked on.

For a moment, nothing happened, the two of them staring wide eyed at the light, frozen in time.

The suspicious beam of light glared directly over the pool, thrown by the wall light fixture that was beside the back door.  And behind the glass door stood a familiar silhouette, stripped of its usual pipe and occasional hat, but still very distinctly Mr. Egbert.

"Shit," John breathed, releasing his grip on Dave, who in turn slackened his hold until John slid to his own feet. His cheeks burned with a vicious red, so deep even the cool blue from the pool lights couldn't quiet down the hue.

At a loss for words, or even rational movement, Dave stood dumbly as John waded to the steps that led out of the pool. His shoulders were rounded meekly, and as he stepped out onto the deck, water hung and dripped from his swim trunks, heavy and guilty. Dave followed afterwards, grabbing a towel before awkwardly stepping towards the back door, where clean light spilled from like a dam broken, irreparable.

John was already there, but it didn't look like his father was speaking to him, or even reacting in any visible way. He just looked at Dave and handed him the bundle of clothes that he had left on the kitchen table, gave him a hard look. It wasn't disapproving, at least not outwardly, but mostly just uncomfortable.

"Your brother's here, sport. Tell him I say hello."

"Uh, yeah. Cool." He took the clothes, not caring much that his wet hands were soaking his shirt. He made sure to avert eye contact, though that may have been a subconscious decision.

Dave liked to think that he wasn't much of a cowardly man, but he left the house as soon as he could, ducking into his bro's car, still in his swim trunks and now, a damp t shirt.

It may have been more fun to look at John than the stars, but it was safer to be interested in the sky, since no one could blame you for liking it.

  
  



End file.
